Like the rest of the Eastside of the Seattle area, Issaquah ranks low in the proportion of housing available to people with lower income levels.

That was one of the messages delivered to the Issaquah City Council at a work session held July 13.

The Eastside has a low proportion — about 7 percent — of overall housing affordable by low- and very low-income households, according to information presented by Arthur Sullivan, program manager for A Regional Coalition for Housing, an areawide affordable housing organization.

Trying to keep up with seemingly ever-increasing development, the Issaquah City Council approved adding new employees to the Development Services Department and taking other steps to spread the workload.

The city will hire a new assistant planner and a new engineering technician, said Christopher Wright, project oversight manager for the development department.

Additionally, Issaquah will extend the contract of a temporary inspector and will allow additional hours for existing public works staff, Wright added.

The Eastside suburb’s story dates back more than 150 years, when it was the second largest town in King County. During that time, coal was king, and Newcastle had plenty of it.

By Christina Corrales-ToyNewcastle Mayor Steve Buri, Aegis Living founder Dwayne Clark, former Gov. Gary Locke and King County Executive Dow Constantine break ground on Aegis Gardens, the region’s first senior living community built for Chinese-American retirees.

That history was at the forefront of attendees’ minds July 30, when nearly 300 people gathered in Newcastle to celebrate the groundbreaking of a unique Aegis Living retirement community. Read more

Work started July 27 at the intersection of Newport Way and West Sunset Way as crews replace ADA-accessible ramps. Traffic in the intersection was to be reduced to one lane in all directions. Pedestrians were asked to prepare for detours through the intersection as well.